Up North wins Best Art Documentary - Mountain Film Festival 2010

February 20, 2010, 6:21 pm

Recently I got to make a trip — on behalf of  Drew and Rob as well —  up to Mammoth in California to accept the award for Best Art Documentary at the Mountain Film Festival. The night was amazing. It was at a beautiful lodge. Many of the filmmakers were there and sharing stories of their works as well. Andy Garcia was even there, well he was at the restaunt at least. The snow was coming down so hard it was almost impossible to drive there, but it was well woth it. There was a dinner and the award ceremony. The wine was abundant and quite tasty and the ice cream was homemade with a variety of strange and intruiging flavors. It was an honor to have the film recognized by our peers as a quality endeavor. We always saw it as an art documentary, now it is clear that others do as well.

Phantom Galleries Opening Went Great

May 11, 2009, 4:46 pm

So we had the opening at Phantom Galleries in Long Beach Saturday the 9th.  It went very well, so many great people showed up.  Though as always we would have liked more.  We are going to do screenings throughout the month so contact us if you want to set up a screening for a group of your own. We would like to thank everybody that came out to support us. Phantom Galleries is an amazing concept that I highly recommend people check out. www.phantomgalleriesla.com/ . 

Many of those who came have been waiting for this film to be screened for nearly 2 years.  It has been an amazing process to shoot and edit this piece and we are quite proud of it an excited for more people to be able to have access to it. Having the opportunity to show it in LA so soon after its completion as been amazing. We were lucky enough to have Drew McIntosh in town as well.  By pure coincidence Drew flew in the week prior and was able to change his ticket. Sadly Robert Lutener couldn't make it othrewise the trio would have been reunited. For Drew and Robert this was their LA Debut, very exciting.

Keep an eye out for more screenings and content coming soon.

Thanks again to all who came and supported us.

a

Up North Community Premiere

March 23, 2009, 6:11 pm

Up North premiered to the community in Edmonton, Alberta on Sunday March 22, 2009.  

The day began with a white-out blizzard, a sure sign of spring in Alberta.  With local roads shut down, and winter taking one last, vengeful swipe at the city, I was impressed by the number of people who made it to the theater to watch our film.

Edmonton is the northernmost major city in Canada and since the early days, it has been known as the gateway to the North. Fur traders from Scotland and France made it here searching for opportunity, pelts and fortune. Later, as the Klondike gold rush hit in the 1890’s, Edmonton was the starting point of the overland route to Dawson City, Yukon. Edmonton was home to the first commercial airfield in North America, and such aviation pioneers as Wop May, who first accessed northern Canada in open cockpits. Oil and gas became the next big draw, attracting workers from all corners of the globe in search of a better life.  This city has always been a northern outpost, and so it’s very fitting that we first screen this film here, where the journey started.

Up North is about the impacts of change on Northern Canada's people, landscape and history. In the theater that evening sat descendents of early settlers and Aboriginal chiefs, government officials, industrialists, artists, workers and everyone else that has coloured this region’s cultural landscape with such bold strokes. Edmonton may not be the most glamorous place, but for me, it’s definitely home. My great, great grandfather homesteaded just west of here in the 1890's; my roots run as deep as any non-aboriginal person living on the prairies. Presenting these stories to such a diverse audience was a great honour.

Documenting the voices of these wise and modest people of the North was the first part of the story, and I’m very excited to see how the next chapter of the journey unfolds as we share this experience with other people in other places.

Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us through to this point; this is your story too.

More good news on the way.

Drew McIntosh